7 Entrepreneurial Skills for the New Economy

October 15, 2013

If you feel at a loss as to how to develop entrepreneurial skills don’t worry, you can learn the skills. We have identified 7 entrepreneurial skills that are critical for success. These are skills that practiced together give you the tools to thrive in the new economy.

The first skill is Building Faith and Commitment. It involves creating a vision for the difference you want to make in the world and having faith and confidence in yourself to accomplish it. It doesn’t have to be the perfect vision; you just make up one that inspires you now.

The second skill is Creating a Niche. Most people believe that they should be generalists to “keep their options open”. We have found that nothing causes more struggle than not working towards being an expert in a single niche. In James Collins book “Good to Great” he found that every one of the exceptional companies he studied was a leader in one single niche. The same is true for individuals.

The third skill is Planning and Follow Through. This involves writing a plan with “Want to” goals that relate to completing your vision rather than “Should do” goals that are most common in management review processes. Michael Gerber in “The E-Myth” states that only 5% of the small businesses he worked with had a written plan and a budget.

A problem in our culture is we focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths. By Utilizing Your Strengths, the fourth skill, you focus on what you do best and in Partnering, the fifth skill, you gain support in the areas outside of your core competencies. Other important areas of partnering are building relationships and being a resource for others.

Everything in life is a negotiation. The key to Negotiation, the sixth skill, is to understand your value proposition. When you have a clear vision of your desired world, are an expert in one field and are utilizing your strengths you are in a position to clearly state your value proposition and create a win- win negotiation.

The final Entrepreneurial Skill is Engaging Risk and Reality. Risk taking without assessing reality is just stupidity. An effort to assess reality with total accuracy is a recipe for paralysis. You must engage both risk and reality simultaneously and move forward with faith.

You don’t need to be Stephen Jobs or a drop out from Stanford to practice entrepreneurism. Whether you’re working for a company or self employed you’ll be more successful and have a greater control of your destiny if you develop entrepreneurial skills.